On the night of the second day traveling with her captors, Taeyeon snuck in her last few bites of food she brought as the others slept around her. Looking up, Taeyeon saw the stars of the night sky shining above whilst she wondered what she did in a past life to receive such punishment.  

Leaning her head back on the posts keeping her trapped, Taeyeon closed her eyes thinking of how her life could have been if she just stayed home. She would have had a husband  ̶ although gross  ̶  he’d have a home, there would have been children eventually...then again, is this much different than her near future as a slave? Serving to man, having to sleep with a man she didn’t like night after night...slavery is no different than marriage Taeyeon thought.

Rolling to her side, Taeyeon opened her eyes to look at the other girls huddled up trying to get their last night of peaceful sleep. By midday, the girls knew they would be arriving to their destination. This night was the most important to all of them as this is their last night not officially labeled as a slave. This night, they could still be free.

Eventually, Taeyeon turned around to inspect the posts on the carriage holding all of them in. They were made of wood about 5cm thick with the appearance of the wood being too thick to break. Examining the wood posts closely, Taeyeon recognized the wood being similar to the kind in her home. Not only did Taeyeon remember the time she accidentally fell into her wall and broke it with the weight of her body, but Taeyeon noticed stress fractures at the points where the wood connected to the carriage. Taeyeon wondered if any of the girls tried to break the wood and escape or the thickness drained all hope before any of the girls tried. Then again, the noise from trying to hit the wood would be very loud and the guards would wake up and surly beat her for even trying to escape.

Hope seemed lost still as she looked at the piece of wood keeping her from her freedom.

A crack of thunder startled Taeyeon as she looked up and a drop of rain fell onto her face. Another crack of thunder roared overhead and the guards immediately jumped up to look around. What started as a few drops, turned into a blanket of rain causing all the personnel and women to awake, “Hurry move to the woods!”

Hooking the horses back up to the wagons, the guards quickly mounted their horses and stampeded off to the dryer areas of the woods. Taeyeon would have thanked her lucky stars for such a break but time was sparse. Using the guise of thunder, Taeyeon quickly to her back and kicked at the wood. The other girls watched and a few gave her hushed discouragement but Taeyeon didn’t care as she kicked the wood repeatedly. It wasn’t long until the wood cracked and buckled under the force and then broke. Knowing breaking one wasn’t enough, Taeyeon quickly started kicking at the next bar. Drenched in the pouring rain and hushed by the roaring thunder, none of the guards knew that their cage was broken. That not only one, but several potential slaves slipped out into those fields and got away. When the carriage arrived in the woods where the guards were, Taeyeon was nowhere to be found.

Adrenaline surged through Taeyeon’s veins as the wet reeds of grass and grain slapped against her pail skin. She never looked back to see if anyone was after her, instead Taeyeon kept her focus on running. Willing to run until she collapsed, Taeyeon knew that if she fell victim to her lungs saying they were tired, she would get dragged back to that carriage and become a slave. Determined to not be enslaved any longer, Taeyeon sought every drop of energy she could endure until she finally did collapse. Her mind and body hit a breaking point where the girl just dropped unconscious in the field.

Her bones and muscles ached as she awoke yet  ̶  strangely  ̶  her cheek felt sore. A few pokes later, Taeyeon recognized it wasn’t a stick or an animal assaulting her cheek, it was a finger which means someone was poking her.

“Omo! You are alive!”

Taeyeon slowly opened her eyes to see a girl hovering over her.

“Excuse me sir...mam? But you must not sleep here. You will get sick.”

Taeyeon tried rolling on her side to get a better look at the girl but her body remained limp, “w-where am I?”

The girl observed the intruder closely wondering if this person was hurt in some way, “West of Baekje. Can you move?”

Taeyeon tried moving her body once more, but to no avail, “I feel like a very heavy stone.”

The girl smiled, “You look too tiny to be a stone. Where a bouts are you from?”

Taeyeon closed her eyes and turned her head to the side, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t call that place home any longer.”

Frowning, the girl reached in her pack to take out some water, “If you ran away, you must be thirsty. Here have some.”

Eyeing out the generous offer, Taeyeon’s throat suddenly felt dry.

“Oh here, let me help you a bit.” Taking Taeyeon’s head, the girl propped her up onto her lap so she could help Taeyeon drink the water, “Are you feeling better?”

Taeyeon nodded as she felt her limbs slowly regain strength, “A little.”

“Were you here all night?”

“I think so.”

“Omo!” The girl gasped, “It rained all night. Don’t tell me you slept out here in that horrible storm?”

“I must have.” Taeyeon wondered if being in soaking clothes all night resulted in her exhaustion. She could be getting sick.

Helping Taeyeon to her feet, the girl offered her arm for support, “You are coming with me.”

“W-what?” Taeyeon was surprised a stranger wanted to help her out.

“You are coming with me. Your clothes are…” the girl eyed up Taeyeon, “…about my size. Let’s get you into something dry and fed before you continue your journey onward.”

“B-but you don’t know me.”

The girl looked at Taeyeon closely as if trying to see the girl behind the mud smeared face, “I am Sooyeon. You are?”

“Taeyeon.”

Smiling happily, Sooyeon took Taeyeon’s arm once again, “There we know each other now. Come with me. I don’t live far.”

Taeyeon didn’t have much strength to pull away from Sooyeon so Taeyeon reluctantly stumbled along. As the two girls walked through the fields, Taeyeon couldn’t help but watch the beautiful girl from behind. She noticed that the girl must be around her age and she had the softest hair she ever saw. Maybe this girl was from a wealthy family but that didn’t make since due to her clothes not being of nobility. Whatever the girl’s background was, Taeyeon was curious to see who she really was.

“There! That is my home.”

Taeyeon looked off into the distance to see a modest-sized home. The home in itself was rather picturesque the way it sat alone in the middle of the field. There was no way the home was of an owner for slaves so that made Taeyeon relax into Sooyeon’s gentle touch as she led them closer. However, as the two girls got closer and closer, Taeyeon felt anxiety bubble up with thoughts of her past experience with strangers.

“Taeyeon?”

Standing still in her spot right before the home, Taeyeon couldn’t look up.

Sooyeon bend down to look Taeyeon in the eyes, “Taeyeon are you ok?”

Closing her eyes for a second, Taeyeon opened them to see Sooyeon staring right into them.

“I am going to go inside. Did you want to wait in the back where the bath is or do you want to come inside with me and pick out a dress you like?” Sooyeon waited for a minute but when Taeyeon refused to speak, she thought Taeyeon didn’t want to come with her so she stood up and went to go into the house but a small hand stopped her when Taeyeon grabbed onto her dress.

“Don’t leave me.”

Sooyeon tried giving Taeyeon a reassuring smile, “You can come with me. I have many pretty dresses.”

Although she was scared of following Sooyeon into the house, Taeyeon knew she would be more frightened without Sooyeon reassuring her everything was alright with her smile. So she entered.

The home was a typical farmhouse with baskets lining the walls, “Taeyeon I have a room here.”

Following Sooyeon into a smaller room, Taeyeon saw the variety of toys and clothing making her envious of Sooyeon’s life. Although not of nobility, Sooyeon clearly had certain luxuries that they enjoyed.

“Taeyeon the blue or pink one?”

Bringing her attention back to Sooyeon, Taeyeon stared at both beautiful dresses. The pink one was elegant with the soft flower lace accents, but that dress would look much better on someone like Sooyeon, “Blue.”

Sooyeon smiled, “Ok. Now that we have some clothes, we should get you washed up and dressed properly. Come with me.”

Going out the back door, Taeyeon’s jaw nearly dropped when she saw the stacks upon stacks of baskets laying around with one shed completely full.

Watching Taeyeon’s line of sight, Sooyeon knew Taeyeon was curious about the baskets. “Oh that. We do some simple farming but that is just for us to eat. Our main business is basket making for the surrounding towns. Father is off in a faraway trip to sell a big shipment and mother is probably in town where we have a shop. It will be near dusk when mother returns. Over in that shed we have the wash basin and the water is just behind the shed. I will let you wash while I prepare dinner.”

Taeyeon walked slowly through the rows of baskets to make her way to the other shed. Opening the wooden door, she saw the metal basin with some simple soaps and a cloth. Taking the smaller bucket, Taeyeon filled the water basin and dunked herself into the crisp water. Although the water chilled her to the bone, lathering herself in soap made her feel human again. No longer was she coated in the filth that bound her to memories of marriage arrangement or slavery. Taeyeon felt clean and ready to start a new life.

With her new attire, Taeyeon waltzed into Sooyeon’s home once again. As soon as she opened the door, Taeyeon became aware of just how hungry she really was as the scent of freshly prepared food filled her senses.

“Oh Taeyeon…you look pretty.”

Rubbing her neck bashfully, Taeyeon looked around the kitchen, “What are you making? It smells nice.”

“Nothing special,” Sooyeon giggled, “Just rice and vegetables.”

Taeyeon made her way to the stove to see what was boiling, “Is that from your farm?”

“This? Oh no. An uncle didn’t have money to pay us but he gave us several kilos of radishes.”

“Is there something I can help with?”

Sooyeon looked over at Taeyeon standing awkwardly beside her, “Could you check on the rice?”

Smiling happily, Taeyeon went over the rice and poked it with the wooden spoon but with no rice sticking onto the spoon, “It isn’t ready yet. It needs at least 10 more minutes.”

Sooyeon smiled as she already knew the rice needed more time. The fact that Taeyeon could do some simple cooking gave Sooyeon valuable knowledge about the girl. In no way was the girl a beggar. Sooyeon knew that Taeyeon ran away for some reason and she hoped to find out why before Taeyeon ran away from her too.

By the time the two girls finished their meals, an elderly woman slowly came through the door, “Umma!”

Looking up to her daughter greeting her at the door, the woman smiled happily, “Sooyeon.”

Taeyeon watched as the mother daughter pair gave each other a tight hug. It was something she envied greatly.

“Umma sit down. I have the food prepared and we have a visitor.”

The elderly woman was shocked to hear they had a visitor and she didn’t even see the smaller girl at the table, “oh dear. I am sorry I didn’t see you there. Sooyeon who is this lovely girl?”

Sooyeon came back into the dining area with the bowl of rice and plate of vegetables, “Umma this is Taeyeon. She was traveling and got caught in that terrible storm the other day. I offered for her to stay here for the night. It seems she was exhausted from her travels.”

Taeyeon could see the tiredness in the older woman’s eyes from her hard day working in town, but the gentleness in her eyes gave Taeyeon a sense of calm, “Taeyeon it is nice to have you around. This household could use a lively atmosphere. You see Sooyeon and I are usually alone and she never brings friends around. I wonder if this young lady even cares to have friends.”

“Umma!” Sooyeon hushed her mother in embarrassment, “I am just busy helping you here.”

The older woman smiled happily taking a seat back by her food, “Sooyeon is a big help. My hands shake every now and then so it is nice to have Sooyeon make the baskets these days. She is very skilled. Maybe she can show you how it is done?”

Taeyeon raised her eyebrows in shock how welcoming the woman was, “I don’t want to impose…”

“Oh you are not dear. Stay as long as you want. We have enough food with the crops being good this year and our business doesn’t lack customers.”

Sooyeon sat back at the table, “It is true. Umma went into town with a wagon full and came back empty again. By winter, that shed of baskets will be empty.”

“Sooyeon will work all winter to make that shed full. Truly skilled.”

Sooyeon smiled softly at her mother, “I learned from a great master.”

Seeing the table full of smiles, Taeyeon felt an unusual warmth fill her body. Was this really what a loving family is like? It was then that Taeyeon felt she no longer needed to travel. Her oasis was already found here with Sooyeon and her family. How she wished she found something like this sooner.

--------------

“No no no…Taeyeon how can you be so bad at this?” Sooyeon huffed in frustration.

Taeyeon looked down at the mess of sedge in her hand that most certainly didn’t weave into anything resembling a basket.

Taking a seat next to Taeyeon, Sooyeon took the sedge out of Taeyeon’s hands, “Ok look here. This is the basic braid. Try using your fingers to weave these like this and this, but do it softly as if you were brushing the hair out of your face.”

Taeyeon tried to focus on the skills Sooyeon was trying to show her but having Sooyeon in such a proximity to her was overwhelming in itself. How was it that this beautiful girl wasn’t set up for marriage or suitors were not waiting at the door for her? Was this girl set away in this field for only her to find?

“Got it?”

Closing her gaping mouth, Taeyeon shook her head, “This is too hard for me.”

“There is no skill that can’t be learned. Just keep trying.”

Taeyeon scrunched her nose as she tried redoing the knot and weave all over again, but she couldn’t get hers to look as flawless as Sooyeons’. For most of the day, while Sooyeon focused on making her baskets, Taeyeon would take subtle glances at the other girl. Sometimes Taeyeon would admire Sooyeon’s work but for most of the time, Taeyeon would admire Sooyeon. The sunshine shined in Sooyeon’s hair and accented her porcelain skin to make the girl look like an angel.

Taeyeon’s heart was beating faster.

Taeyeon’s time at Sooyeon’s house grew longer and longer. Sooyeon was happy to have a friend around to talk to while making baskets, Sooyeon’s mother was happy to see her daughter happy and Taeyeon felt like she was finally living a life worth living. Although everyone agreed Taeyeon at basket making.

One day the girls were taking a break from weaving to wander long grasses of sedge, “Sooyeon how old were you when you weaved your first basket?”

Playing with the plucked piece of grass, Sooyeon twirled it in her fingers, “Humm I was a lot younger…maybe 8 or 9.”

Puffing her cheeks, Taeyeon felt even more defeated with her lack of skills.

“The basket wasn’t perfect. I think I did something terribly wrong with the weave because I remember having all these bumps. It wasn’t smooth like the baskets I make now.”

“How long did it take to master this?”

“Several years. I don’t think my first basket went to market with umma until I was 12. From then on, I would help umma with the baskets while father sold them in town. A few years ago, umma would get these shakes and needed more time off from weaving so I took over while she went to sell them in the market with appa. This went on for a while, but you know you can only sell so many baskets to one town so appa decided to make longer journeys to sell our baskets. Since he did that, I stayed home most of the days to support my family.”

Taeyeon stopped walking when Sooyeon did.

“Taeyeon I am glad you came around. You are my first true friend in a very long while.”

When Sooyeon smiled brighter than the sun, Taeyeon fell victim to the warmth Sooyeon emitted naturally.

Yet again her heart beat faster.

Taeyeon coughed to regain her senses, “Y-you too…I was not very sociable so having a friend is something new to me.”

Sooyeon laughed and ruffled Taeyeon’s hair, “I am honored you found me first. We are going to be the best of friends.”

Taeyeon smiled because she believed it too, “The very best.”

Sooyeon grabbed Taeyeon’s hand, “Come on.”

Taeyeon felt Sooyeon pull her along the fields so the both of them could feel the air course through their hair. The fields filled with bright color, just like how Sooyeon brightened up Taeyeon’s life.

Author's Note

I hope you readers are ready for what comes next. The next chapter is going to be a whirlwind of emotions and the plot gets more intense from then on.

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